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Author: Admin | 2025-04-28
In the 100-metre sprint final. Hary had previously worn Adidas products and approached Adolf for compensation. However, Adidas declined the request. Despite winning a gold medal in Pumas, Hary chose to wear Adidas during the medals ceremony, surprising the two Dassler brothers. Hary seemingly aimed to benefit financially from both brands, but Adolf was infuriated to the extent of banning the Olympic champion.[13]During the 1968 Olympics Black Power Salute, Puma-sponsored African-American athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos, after having won gold and bronze in the 200 meters, respectively, took to the podium with their Puma Suede shoes in hand and bowed their heads and raised their black-gloved fists in silent protest during the playing of the national anthem, an act meant to stand up for human rights and to stand up for black Americans.[20]A few months prior to the 1970 FIFA World Cup, Armin Dassler (Rudolf's son) of Puma and his cousin Horst Dassler (Adi's son) of Adidas sealed an agreement which was dubbed "The Pelé Pact".[21] This agreement dictated that Pelé would be out of bounds for both Adidas and Puma, feeling that a bidding war for the most famous athlete in the world would become too expensive, only for Puma to break the pact and sign him.[22][23]In addition to paying Pelé a percentage of Puma King boot sales, Puma paid him $120,000 ($2.85 million in 2022) to tie his laces prior to Brazil's quarter-final game against Peru to advertise their boots.[24][25] An idea conceived by Puma's representative Hans Henningsen, Pelé stopped the referee from starting the game with a last-second request to tie his shoelaces, and with the camera panning in on Pelé, the Puma King boots were broadcast to a global audience, generating enormous publicity for the brand.[23][24]The most notable event in the Dassler brothers feud, the breaking of the "Pelé Pact" outraged Horst, and future peace agreements were called off.[21][22] The Puma deal for Pelé was praised as a shrewd marketing move, and many business experts credit the rivalry and competition between the two companies for transforming sports apparel into a highly lucrative industry.[24]During the 1972 Summer Olympics, Puma provided shoes for the Ugandan 400 metres hurdles champion, John Akii-Bua. After Akii-Bua was forced out of Uganda by its military government, Puma employed him in Germany. Eventually, Akii-Bua returned to Uganda.[26]Puma launched the Puma Clyde in 1973, a basketball shoe based on the Suede. Designed for
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